Compare These

CNET Editors' Rating

The GoodBest overall system in its price range; 64-bit Windows Vista aids memory efficiency; largest hard drive at this price

The BadMore RAM than is immediately worthwhile.

The Bottom LineWe can forgive Gateway for cramming the DX4200 with more memory than it needs simply because its specs and overall performance are the best in its price class. Of the various do-it-all lower midrange PCs out there, this one gets our nod.

Review Sections

We didn't love Gateway's new FX4710 performance desktop because it sacrificed extra features (say, a faster 3D card?) for the sake of plumping its memory specs. We felt the same trepidation with the $750 DX4200, but the fact is that this desktop is the best-equipped mainstream midtower on the market. If you're shopping for a monitor to go along with your new desktop, you might also consider an iMac, but for standalone system buyers, the Gateway DX4200 is hard to pass up.

Like Gateway's FX4710 and the GT5692, the DX4200 comes with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium. We're glad to see Gateway push that more memory-friendly version of Windows, but as we showed last month, without more 64-bit programs to go along with it, you get the most cost-effective benefit from 64-bit Vista with 4GB of RAM. 6GB, as configured with both the FX4710 and the DX4200, ends up being overkill for most consumers right now. It might be a future-proofing consideration, but if your goal is a 64-bit system with lots of RAM, you're better off waiting for the applications to catch up, at which point you can buy more computer overall for your dollar.

That was our major criticism of the FX4710. It would be the same with the DX4200, but even with the 6GB of memory, it still outclasses everything else in its price range right now. The extra memory won't hurt you, and you get more hard-drive space than you'll find in competing systems.

Gateway DX4200

Dell Inspiron 518

Price

$750

$784

CPU

2.2GHz AMD Phenom X4 9550

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Memory

6GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Graphics

256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450

256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450

Hard drives

640GB, 7,200 rpm

320GB, 5,400 rpm

Optical drive

dual-layer DVD burner

dual-layer DVD burner

Networking

Gigabit Ethernet

Gigabit Ethernet

Operating system

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (32-bit)

TV Tuner

No

No

Dell's biggest problem is that it still offers only 32-bit Vista, and thus the Inspiron 518 doesn't use its memory as efficiently as the Gateway. The Gateway DX4200 beats the Dell configuration with its larger hard drive. The Inspiron's one saving grace is its faster CPU, which helps it gain ground on a few performance tests.

Performance is a bit less clear in this comparison. The 20-inch iMac comes in at $1,199, (although with only a 250GB hard drive) and outpaces the Gateway and the Dell on all but the multiprocessor Cinebench test. Decent 20-inch LCDs run about $200 right now, so buying the Gateway plus a new monitor would run you $950. That's a much better deal than the iMac, and the Gateway gives you more storage. If you're serious about content creation, however, the iMac looks more appealing due to its speed.